The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-08-03
A LONG LIFE.
THE EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF
LOUIS CORNARO.
Given Up by All the Doctors at
Forty, He Lived to be 100
How it was Accom-
pliShcd.

The common idea is that longevity de-
pends entirely on inherited constitution,
writes Richard A. Proctor in the COsmo-
politan. Probably there is much truth in
this idea, but it is improbable, and that
point seems worth careful study, that
longevity is affected indirectly rather
than directly by inheritance. 1t may
well be that the descendant of long-liTcd
folk is apt to be long lived, not solely or
chiefly because he inhcrits constitutional
peculiarities tending to length Of life, but
because he inherits qualities leading to
temperance and abstinence by which life
is prolonged, or even simply because tenn
perance and abstinence have been cncour-
aged during his youth by example and
by preccpt.
Considering the question of longevity
from this point of view, the case of Louis
Cornaro, which has always been thought
most instructive, becomes full also of en-
couragement.
In the first place, it must be remem-
bered that Cornaro (who was born at
Venice about the year 1467) was man
of weak constitution. Moreover, from
the age of eighteen to that of thirty-tive
he pursued courses that would have seri-
ously taxed the strongest constitution.
Life at thirty-fve was burden to him
because of the disorders brought on by
riotous living and indulgence in every
kind of excess. The next five years were
passed in almost unremitted suffering.
He was told by his physicians, when
forty years old, that nothing could pro-
long his life for more than two or three
years, but that such life as remained to
him might be less painful than the
years he had recently lived if he would
adopt more temperate habits. If ever
there was a case where inherited consti-
tuition and an intempcrate life threatened
an early death, this was one. But, as events
befell, it turned out that, if ever there
was case where the e-preserving in
fuence of wise regimen and abstemious
habits was demonstrated, Cornaro's must
be cited as especially significant.
At the age of forty Cornaro began
gradually to reduce the quantity of food,
both liquid and solid, which he took each
day, till at length he only took what ma
ture absolutely required. He tells us
that at first he found this severe regimen
very disagreeable, and confesses that she
relapsed from time to time to the flesh
pots of Egypt" But by resuming his
efforts after each failure he succeeded in
less than year in adopting permanently
spare and moderate system. BY this
time he was already restored to perfect
health. But thus far he had only fol-
lowed the counsels of the physicians
somewhat more steadily than they ex-
pected, or than is usual in such cases,
and therefore with unexpected good re-
suits. 1t was after he had recovered his
health that he went on to those expert
ments by which he seemed to show how
life may be extended far beyond the
Psalmist's allowance.
From temperance he proceeded to alb
stemiousness. Undeterred bythe doubts
of his physicians as to the wisdom of his
course, he diminished his daily allowance
of food until at last the yolk of an egg
sutficed him for meal! Throughout
the time when he was thus reducing his al
lowance of food his health and spirits kept
improving. Nay, he tells us that even
his enjoyment in eating had increased;
for he says he could now get more pleas
ure from small meal of dry bread than
he had ever obtained in the days of his
excesses from the most exquisite dain
ties of the table. AS regards regimen,
Cornaro simply avoided extremes of heat
and cold, over-fatigue, late hours, sexual
excuses, and all violent passions of the
mind he took moderate exercise in the
open air, and his chief pleasures were
those obtained from literary and artistic
study, from the contemplation of fine,
noble buildings, beautiful combinations
of color, and sweet music.
When Cornaro was within two years of
four-score his diet was regulated, in
quality and quantity, as follows: In four
meals he took each day twelve ounces in
all of solid food, consisting of bread
(stale, of course, for he was not weak
mindcd), light meat, yolk of egg, and
soup; of liquid food other than pure
water he took fourteen ounces of light
wine Thus his solid food, equally di-
vided among four meals, amounted only
to three ounces per meal, while he took
per meal about three and one half ounces,
or as nearly as possible one-third of a
tumblerful of claret or some other wine
of the kind.
1t must be noted, however, that this
extreme abstemiousness, as well as the
special nature of the food, solid and
liquid, consumed by Cornaro, must not
be regarded as absolutely essential parts
OF his experience, so far as longevity is
concerned. We may reasonably attribute
his exceeding sensitiveness in regard to
TODD to peculiarities of constitution. He
tells us that his medical friends. dceming
his allowance too small, urged him to add
two ounces daily to his solid, and as
many to his liquid food, a change which
he adopted for while but had pres
emily to discontinue, because his
vivacity was destroyed and he was be-
coming peevish and melancholy. But
this, while it shows that Cornaro was ex-
ceptionally sensitive, and had proba-
bly, very weak constitution, only
strengthens the evidence which his case
supplies as to the advantage of temper
ance and even abstcmiousness. If one so
weak could live the life of a v.ry strong
and hearty man merely by reducing his
food to what many would call ''starva-
tion point" what resources there must be
in an abstemious life for those of strong
constitution who shorten their lives by
what most men call simply full and
generous living.
AT the age of eighty-three Cornaro
wrote his treatise on The Advantage of
Temperate Life" adding later three